Welcome to my blog..

When I started this blog in 2011, I was in a time of transition in my life between many identities - that of Artistic Director of a company (Apocryphal Theatre) to independent writer/director/artist/teacher and also between family identity, as I discover a new family that my grandfather's name change at the request of his boss in WWII hid from view - a huge Hungarian-Slovak contingent I met in 2011. Please note in light of this the irony of the name of my recently-disbanded theatre company. This particular transition probably began in the one month period (Dec. 9, 2009-Jan. 7, 2010) in which I received a PhD, my 20 year old cat died on my father's birthday and then my father, who I barely knew, died too. I was with him when he died and nothing has been the same since. This blog is tracing the more conscious elements of this journey and attempt to fill in the blanks. I'm also writing a book about my grandmothers that features too. I'd be delighted if you joined me. (Please note if you are joining mid-route, that I assume knowledge of earlier posts in later posts, so it may be better to start at the beginning for the all singing, all dancing fun-fair ride.) In October 2011, I moved back NYC after living in London for 8 years and separated from my now ex-husband, which means unless you want your life upended entirely don't start a blog called Somewhere in Transition. In November 2011, I adopted a rescue cat named Ugo. He is lovely. As of January 2012, I began teaching an acting class at Hunter College, which is where one of my grandmothers received a scholarship to study acting, but her parents would not let her go. All things come round…I began to think it may be time to stop thinking of my life in transition when in June 2012 my stepfather Tom suddenly died. Now back in the U.S. for a bit, I notice, too, my writing is more overtly political, no longer concerned about being an expat opining about a country not my own. I moved to my own apartment in August 2012 and am a very happy resident of Inwood on the top tip of Manhattan where the skunks and the egrets roam in the last old growth forest on the island.

I am now transitioning into being married again with a new surname (Barclay-Morton). John is transitioning from Canada to NYC and as of June 2014 has a green card. So transition continues, but now from sad to happy, from loss to love...from a sense of alienation to a sense of being at home in the world.

As of September 2013 I started teaching writing (composition and rhetoric) as an adjunct professor at Fordham University, which I have discovered I love with an almost irrational passion. So blessed for the opportunity and hope to find a more permanent job doing same.

I worked full time on the book thanks to a successful crowd-funding campaign in May 2014 and completed it at two residencies at Vermont Studio Center and Wisdom House in summer 2015. I have done some revisions and am shopping it around to agents and publishers now, along with having written a rough draft of a new book and some other projects.

Not sure when transition ends, if it ever does. As the saying goes, the only difference between a sad ending and a happy ending is where you stop rolling the film.

Recently, I started a website Our Grandmothers, Our Selves, which has stories about many people's grandmothers. Please check it out. I will be blogging there, too, now.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Housing issues are a guaranty of insanity

While trying to focus on my work today, I was rattled afresh by my landlord and landlady telling me they would not give me a new sole tenant's agreement, which I need for a variety of legal and financial reasons, and that they want the house back relatively soon anyway. This means of course a new and urgent upheaval and one I am not happy about anymore than separating from my husband.

This also meant that instead of doing a lot of work on my piece today, I've ended up on endless phone calls with various people know know the housing laws, etc. I now need to return to the piece. I had an anxiety dream last night about trying to perform it improvisationally in a pool, and was surprised that it started out well - after I was very late because looking for an outfit in which to recreate a baptism, but instead of white I could only find red fabric (so obvious these dreams!!!) - but then the performance got all confused and I was kind of embarrassed and realized I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Later on there was an incident involving not enough clothing. I mean, this is junior high-school grade dreaming, folks. So embarrassing!

I was joking with my friend Mary that the show may be me talking about what's going on with my life and why the show is not all the things it was supposed to be while letting unedited video and photos roll behind me to prove I had in fact planned to do a real show, but this is not That show....this may in fact happen. We'll see. Even if not all of it, some of it will have this element, because if life isn't proving it's dominance over every single one of my intentions right now, I don't know what the hell else is going on and the best way to show that may be a seriously fractured, seams-showing kinda show...

We'll see.

Today for the most part I've been typing up all the found text from various sources (rudely interrupted by landlord visit). Below is an excerpt of some raw found text (which I have not yet edited or cut up in any way) and below that some more photos...

Text from the Southend-on-sea pier:

Insert token into reader + barrier will automatically open

Gas Intake Room

Fancy a career change?

Danger Open Trench past this point

Talking Telescope!

Visit the Lifeboats?

Give way to lifeboat emergency vehicle

Anglers! Beware of submerged obstructions in this area – loss of fishing tackle is likely.

No smoking.

Danger lower deck.

Access forbidden to all unauthorized persons

Visit lifeboat at pier head

Emergency Response – Penalty for Improper Use

The Sundeck is Open to Visitors

William I do not like you hiding

Hello

Don’t touch it

***

ASLI ♥ OZCAN

AMARILDO + ELIANA ♥

The Airscouts were here

Karlina Dian

Holy ♥ Sham

Megan loves Nan

Dave loves Tom

Harold Bruce Grant –

Beloved husband, father + grandfather who sailed these waters + who loved this pier.

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Recent or Upcoming Events

CURRENT & RECENT EVENTS:

May 2017: My new website Our Grandmothers, Our Selveshas just launched! You can check out many people's grandmothers' stories and pictures and add your own, and become part of the conversation on the Rewriting the Archive Forum (on the site). Would love to see you there! Let's rewrite history to include all those missing and crucial women's stories without which we have a limited understanding of who and what we are.

Sunday, Jan. 1, I read at St. Mark's Poetry Marathon - in the 5-6pm slot. A huge honor. Will read a poetic excerpt from DICK & JANI - that incorporated style of a John Cage's lecture and found text from the 1950s, personal and public.

Beginning January 5, I will be reading as part of the The Resister Project produced by The Dirty Blondes at Kraine Theater on East 4th Street in January. Dates and specifics of schedules all plays and readers here: http://www.thedirtyblondes.org/the-resister-project.html Proceeds will go to ACLU.

On Governor's Island, we presented Merde!my most recent-stage text in a house curated by Dysfunctional Theatre Collective. Sept 10-11 mostly open rehearsals, and a ritual on 11th of remembrance. Sept 17-18 shows are at 2 & 4pm. Details here.

Podcast!Episode 57 of The Other Stories of me reading excerpts fromThe Amazing True Imaginary Autobiography of Dick & Jani and being interviewed by the lovely and talented Ilana Masad.

THANK YOU for helping me tell an important untold story!

The Indiegogo campaign forThe Amazing True Imaginary Autobiography of Dick & Jani, which I've written about a lot here as 'the grandmothers' book. **This successfully funded campaign hasre-openedby invitation from Indiegogo as an IN DEMAND campaign, so you click this link to contribute, get perks, share on social media and/or to read more about the book**:

The book traces the lives of my grandmothers, both born before women had the right to vote, but who cut two very different paths through their lives. Dick was on the surface a one-dimensional, frustrated housewife (who was anything but), whereas Jani rebelled loudly against the conventions of marriage and motherhood, yet never stopped trying to find love, even after she crashed out of her third marriage on her way to becoming a feminist teacher in the 1970s.

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Writer, Director, Artist, Researcher, Teacher

Right now I'm focusing on my writing and teaching but what I also do and have done for many years is direct, research (received PhD on thesis relating theatre to philosophy in 2009), take photos, lecture, teach workshops, meditate, do yoga and sometimes just freak out anyway.